preface
"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest fear comes from the unknown." —H.P. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature.
In Cthulhu's related works, it can often be seen: the quiet invasion of ancient things, the creeping down of inexplicable fears around, the exploration of the mysterious unknown eventually leads to irreparable disasters, people who fall into despair lose their minds and collapse madly, and so on... This work is also no exception, the spread of unknown evil diseases, the infiltration of the secret religion of God, the revival of ancient evil gods, whether to succumb to fear, or to cling to the bottom line of "man". Fellow investigators, will you be stuck?
(The author's understanding of Cthulhu-related works is still shallow, if there is an error, please correct)
A brief introduction to the Cthulhu Mythos
Cthulhu Mythos is a system of alternate legends based on the fictional world of American writer Howard Philip Lovecraft, compiled by August William Dres and co-created by many authors.
In the world of the Cthulhu myth, human beings in modern society have gradually lost their reverence for nature due to the development of science and technology. However, human beings have not escaped the control of nature. There are many incomprehensible and inexplicable beings hidden in the universe, which have created a new fear of the unknown in modern society. The Cthulhu myth depicts these frightening gods.
Impression map of Cthulhu
An introduction to the production team
Developed by Tiny Bull Studios and Chinese distribution team 2P Games has launched the Chinese version after months of work and polishing.
Tiny Bull Studios is a turin, Italy-based software company founded in 2011 that has developed a VR blind simulation game called Blind.
Blind in-game screenshots
Young production crew members
2P Games is an independent game publisher from China, founded in 2019, with a team of game expertise of more than decades. Committed to bringing the best indie games from around the world to players by working with developers. Its games include the highly acclaimed suspenseful reasoning AVG work "Backtracking Dependence", RPG work "Showa Mikoku Monogatari Monogatari", and so on.
Retro game book style
The first thing that caught my eye was this yellowed parchment, based on a game book that has been loved by players since the 70s, adding many elements of horror novels such as unknown creatures and mysterious religions created by Lovecraft, forming a strange world.
Quaint game book style
With up to 140,000 words of exquisite text content, more than 300 exquisite hand-drawn illustrations, every page read has hand-drawn illustrations, yellowed pages, and flipping sound effects, making you feel as if you are really holding a roll of parchment and swimming in the world of the book.
A mysterious plague that came out of nowhere
Narrated from a second-person perspective, you'll follow Jack Huntington, a military doctor who joined the army after the death of his wife, to the war-torn city of Zanzibar in 1896. The haze of death hangs over the continent, where a disease that has claimed countless lives is spreading, and you will see untold and brutal images in the face of one village ravaged by viruses and war. In this mysterious land, you are determined to delve into the root causes of the plague.
Comprehensive development or technical expertise
As an investigator, a wealth of experience is fundamental to your survival, and the game has ability values in 5 directions of "fighting, observation, medicine, dexterity, and eloquence", corresponding to different occasions. Among them, especially the application of "eloquence" is the most extensive, want evidence, mouth cannon, can not hit the opposite, mouth cannon, very easy to use, recommended to add points first.
Profile interface
The game can use its own ability to solve events, and after successfully solving them, you can gain experience points, and as the events deepen, the requirements for ability levels gradually deepen.
Successful use of the "Observe" ability
Plague, occultism and entanglement of the ancient gods
"Sometimes, I believe that this life without a sense of reality is more real than our real life, and the empty life we spend on this small planet of land and water is secondary or just a visual phenomenon." 」
—H.P. Lovecraft, "Over the Wall of Sleep"
As you continue to gather information, you will find that all the clues seem to point to a more ancient and evil being. It grows quietly in the shadows, and its tentacles are all over the world. You will find yourself being targeted by occult teachings, panicking but helpless.
A few words about occultism
The SAN value that decreases as a result of progressive deepening
“...... The player characters are typically mentally sound people, but as the game progresses, they will be confronted with an incomparably terrifying knowledge and existence that simply cannot belong to this world, and will mentally and physically understand their terrifying true meanings. These experiences are bound to shake and destroy their normal worldview. ”
- The Call of Cthulhu (role-playing game, rulebook 6th edition)
Like the classic Cthulhu game, the game has a near-SAN setting, and exposure to frightening things will make your SAN drop. However, the difference is that the SAN value in this game does not have a specific numerical performance, it is reflected in what you see and feel in your dreams, and when you completely lose your mind, the world will be turned upside down.
Crazy dreams
Total loss of sanity
You will know the harsh truth
"I think that the human mind lacks the ability to connect what is known, and that is the most benevolent thing in the world. Humans live on a small island called Ignorance in a dark ocean, which is vast and contains endless secrets, but we should not sail too far and explore too deeply. ”
—H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Always remember that excessive snooping on the truth can get you caught up in it, and perhaps the best way to get out of it is to stay away from it all. As the plot progresses, you will find yourself already in the center of the whirlpool, and you have no way to avoid it.
Imprisoned by occultism
Making a choice is an inevitable destiny path
The game is divided into main plot and side plot, a total of more than 140,000 words of plot text, in the course of the story, may be filled with a large number of deaths, your every choice may determine the life and death of other characters, in most of the time death is inevitable.
However, your choices over the course of the story may have more serious consequences than death itself, although this may be a fateful ending. Only a few choices lead to different endings, most of them are the same, and compared to ordinary word adventure games, there is a kind of Gram-flavored people's small sadness.
Its name was engraved on the monument, but no one knew
A supporting character with a distinct personality
Each character has their own unique portrait, the portrait is highly recognizable, all of them reflect their respective personality characteristics, even the face blind I can distinguish clearly, most of the characters can also be corresponded one by one, like the iron-boned and tender Smith, the cynical but unexpectedly reliable Lloyd... Although the supporting characters do not have much ink on each of them, their personalities jump on the paper, with flesh and blood and soul.
Gay men were by my side
Rich mythological images of Cthulhu
Several mythological images of Cthulhu appear in the game, such as Naiyaratotipu, Hastauruk, Asathos, etc. Here I will briefly introduce the "protagonist" Hastalyk.
Hastauluk was one of the rulers of the old days, nicknamed the "God of the Plague". Unlike most of the old dominators, Hastaulyuk existed in the form of microorganisms, and his form was so tiny that he could only be seen through a microscope.
"As one of the most insidious and powerful rulers of the old days, Hastauluk is the embodiment of disease. Whether it's a large-scale epidemic or a local outbreak of plague, it could all come down to Hastauluc. Hastauluk itself is not pathogenic, it is an amplifier of the local infectious disease, and will rapidly expand the scale of its outbreak. ”
--Chad S. Chad J. Bowser
Hastauluk after in-game figuration
Some anecdotes related to the background of the game
During the game, you may encounter famous historical figures, experience real historical events, and even have the opportunity to leave a name in history.
For example, at the beginning of the story, you plunge into the Zanzibar battlefield in 1896 and make a great achievement. On August 27, 1896, britain and the East African island nation of Zanzibar (now an autonomous region of Tanzania) launched an unprecedentedly short war, the shortest war in the history of the world. The battle lasted 38 minutes, from nine o'clock in the morning to nearly ten o'clock, when Zanzibar surrendered and ended with a British victory.
Martinus Bergerlink, a microbiologist who works with you in the game to study the plague, is actually the first person in history to discover the virus. He is considered the pioneer of virology, and in 1898 he proved through filtration experiments that the pathogen of tobacco mosaic disease was smaller than bacteria, and thus deduced the existence of viruses. He named the pathogen "virus." (Ivanovsky also discovered the virus in 1892, but he did not publish his findings.) ）
Isn't it a wonderful feeling to experience history first-hand?
Defects that exist
Although the game itself is excellent, there are still flaws that affect the experience of playing. For example, the problem of not being able to save, which is quite unfriendly to full-achievement players, even if you go back after making a selection in the options, you can't re-select, if you choose the wrong one, this achievement will always be missed in this save, if you want to achieve full achievement, you need to open the file from scratch, and you can't fast-forward to the plot that you made before making a choice.
epilogue
"Omens of Collapse: Plague" is an excellent Cthulhu-themed word adventure game, classic game book style, rich and thick text content, exquisite and elegant hand-drawn illustrations, thrilling plot, showing players a mysterious corner of the Cthulhu world. If you happen to be a Cthulhu lover, don't miss it.
This article is written by StarGame Connoisseur Maple